


Rimmer's Decision

by felineranger



Series: Decisions [1]
Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-07-29
Updated: 2004-07-29
Packaged: 2017-10-07 19:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 12,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/68514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felineranger/pseuds/felineranger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happened after Rimmer left to become Ace...<br/>Some mild violence and very mild, blink-and-you'll-miss-it, slash</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever epic fic....

 

 

 Disclaimer: Sorry, not mine. Never were. Never will be.

 

Rimmer's Decision

 

 

Rimmer lay in his bunk, staring off into empty space. He knew what he had to do, or rather, he knew what he should do. But the idea of leaving Starbug forever to pursue a life of danger, intrigue and heroism made him quake in his highly-polished boots. He didn't want to go. He didn't have to, after all. Lister was the only person who knew and he would understand. Surely. Yes.

He closed his eyes and settled down against the pillow. He'd have a quiet word with Lister tomorrow and they'd sort it out somehow. He wouldn't have to leave.

He was just dropping off to sleep when suddenly, a great white light flooded the room. He groaned and screwed his eyes up tighter, "Lister, turn the smegging light off!"

"ARNOLD RIMMER." a great voice that was most certainly not Lister's boomed his name and he bolted upright in bed. "What the smeg is going on!"

"YOU MUST LISTEN TO ME. THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME."

"Smeg off."; said Rimmer, "You should have come earlier. And where are you anyway?"

"I AM EVERYWHERE."

Rimmer swallowed hard, "Um. You're not God, are you?" he asked nervously.

"NO. NOT AS SUCH. BUT I AM...SOMETHING. NOW LISTEN TO ME. YOU MUST LEAVE STARBUG AND TAKE UP YOUR DESTINY AS ACE."

"But I don't want to!"

"IT MUST BE."

"Why?"

"THE FATE OF MUCH AND MANY RESTS UPON IT. I CANNOT TELL YOU EVERYTHING, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THIS: IF YOU DO NOT GO, IT MAY SPELL THE END OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF."

"Oh bugger." said Rimmer in a very small voice.

"INDEED." The voice agreed.

"But,"Rimmer protested, "I don't know how to be Ace! I was crap at all the training! I can't get the wig to sit straight! And I'm a coward!"

"NONETHELESS, IT MUST BE DONE. AND IF ALL GOES AS IT SHOULD, YOU SHALL BE THE GREATEST ACE RIMMER OF ALL."

"And you're sure you haven't got the wrong dimension or something?" Rimmer asked, "Perhaps a slight miscalculation in timing? A little temporal fault?"

"NO. NOW STOP TRYING TO SQUIRM OUT OF IT. YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO. IF NOT FOR YOURSELF, THEN DO IT FOR THEM."

Within the blazing light, Rimmer saw the images of his sleeping crewmates. "Are they really that desperate to get rid of me?" he asked.

"NO. WELL...NOT ALL OF THEM. BUT IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE THEM NOW IT MAY BRING DISASTER FOR THEM AS WELL AS YOU AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS UNIVERSE."

Rimmer gazed at the sleeping figures, one in particular. "If I go," he said softly, "I'll never see him...I mean them...any of them...again. Will I?" At his words, the voice became more kindly. "THIS MUCH I THINK IT IS SAFE TO TELL YOU. YOU WILL SEE THEM AGAIN. SOON, IF THINGS WORK OUT. LISTER HAS HIS OWN DESTINY TO FULFILL AND BEFORE THE END YOUR TWO DESTINIES WILL INTERWEAVE. YES. YOU WILL SEE HIM AGAIN." There was a pause to let this sink in. "NOW HOP TO IT!"

The light faded and left Rimmer alone once again in his darkened quarters.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Lister sat back in his chair in the cockpit and watched the stars go by with a sigh. Back in the mid-section he could hear Kryten and Kochanski squabbling about something; it sounded like the bloody salad cream again.

Rimmer had been gone for about eighteen months now and although they’d settled into a new routine on Starbug to compensate for his loss, there were still occasions when Lister found himself wishing things were back the way they’d been. It was wonderful to have Kriss around again, even if nothing had come of it - not yet at least, he still hadn’t given up hope on that front - but Rimmer had been his last connection to life before the radiation leak. They had shared a past and memories about things that Kryten and the Cat couldn’t understand and Kriss, from a different dimension, simply had no knowledge of.

As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, Lister did still miss Rimmer quite a lot.

A complicated beeping sound behind him made him look round. There were some lights flashing on the scan. “Kriss!” he called, “Scan’s acting up again.” She jogged up the steps and peered over at it, with Kryten following her. “...Do you have an extensive program built in to cover all culinary matters, ma’am?” Kryten asked, “I doubt it somehow. And my program clearly sates that salad cream should...”

“Kryten, shut up and that’s an order.” she snarled, dropping into her seat. Kryten made a small ‘hmph’ and sat down in his own seat.

“What is it?” Lister asked her, “Just a malfunction?” Kriss stared at the screen in front of her,

“No.” she said slowly, “As far as I can gather, this seems to be genuine.” Lister picked up on the tone of her voice and turned to face her, “What’s it found?” She looked up at him, her eyes huge and round. “Human life.” She said softly. They stared at each other in silence for a second before anyone spoke. “Kryten?” Lister asked, a tremor in his voice.

“It appears that Miss Kochanski is correct, sir.” Kryten replied, somewhat grudgingly. “Although there are some other life signs as well that are not so clear. I would suggest caution.”

“Where’s it coming from?” Lister asked.

“A small planetoid just ahead.” Kriss reported. She looked up at him, “What do we do?” Lister paused. “Go and wake the Cat.” he told her finally. “We’re going down.”


	3. Chapter 3

They landed on an open plain. The ground was just dirt but there was scrubby vegetation visible out of the cockpit windshield. The crew filed out to Starbug’s airlock. At Lister’s insistence, they were lightly armed with knives and, less lightly, with bazookoids but he didn’t think they were going to need them. He had a feeling, deep inside that this was right somehow. That everything was going to be alright. He nodded to Kryten and he triggered the airlock. They were on their way.

            Beside him, he could feel Kriss fairly buzzing with nervous excitement and he supposed she must be getting the same vibe from him. The Cat was blase, as he was about most things and Kryten was just plain nervous but only he and Kriss were really aware of the magnitude of what was happening. If they found other people, other humans...

 The hatchway door purred open and they stepped out as a group onto Starbug’s ramp. There were humans, alright. A big group of them. With a large amount of spears and not very happy faces. “Guess they heard my super-smooth landing after all.” the Cat remarked.

“Dave...” Kriss said nervously under her breath, taking a step back.

“Wait.” he said softly. He stepped forward. “Hi, there! Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you or anything but we picked you up on our scanner and well, we didn’t know there were anymore of you guys like us around, so we thought we’d drop in.” Silence. “We come in peace.” he added hopefully.

“Give up, bud.” the Cat told him. “We don’t even know if these dumb monkeys speak english. Let’s just back away slowly and I can get back to my laundry.”

            “We speak english.” a voice announced from the crowd. Lister’s heart leapt. A man was walking through to the front of the group and the spears were being put up. He stopped at the bottom of the ramp. “Sorry. But you did give us a bit of a fright. And we have to be careful.”

“No probs.” Lister beamed. He gestured to the crew and they all put down the bazookoids. He went down the ramp and shook hands with the speaker. “My name is Ethan Morgan.” he introduced himself, “And this,” he gestured around them, “Is Santa Ria. Our home.”

“Dave Lister.” he replied, “This is Kristine Kochanski and the weird looking fellas are Kryten and Cat. And er...that’s Starbug.”

            Ethan’s expression changed. There was a flicker of something in his eyes and he suddenly grinned widely. “Dave Lister?” he asked, “You’re really Dave Lister?” He turned to look at the others, “You’re the Red Dwarf posse?” The delight in his voice was evident. The Cat primped smugly at this attention. “Yes.” Lister confirmed, confused. “You know about us?”

“I think we have a friend in common.” Ethan turned around and whispered something to a young man who grinned and ran off. “Come on. We’ll take you back to the village. We have a lot to talk about.”


	4. Chapter 4

The crew followed Ethan and the crowd over the plain and it wasn’t long before small wooden huts came into view, clustered around a large open space with a huge unlit fire in the middle. “What’s that for?” Kochanski asked Ethan curiously.

“Two words.” Ethan told her, “Light and heat. It can get quite cold here at night so we light the fire at dusk and the warmth reaches all the houses in the circle. And if we need to hold a meeting or the hunters need to be guided home in the evenings, it gives off a real glow as well; you can see it for miles.”

            He led them to one of the huts and held aside the animal skin that served as a doorway. “Come on in.” They filed in after him and he gestured to them to make themselves comfortable at a large round wooden table to one side, surrounded by similar chairs. They looked like they’d been hewn from some kind of fir tree. In the other corner was a low bed of woollen blankets and furs.

 “So,” asked Lister, as they sat down, “Are you in charge round here, then?” Ethan shrugged, “Not really. Nobody’s in charge as such. We’re a democratic society; all decisions affecting the community are made by vote. But people do listen to me and I suppose that if we had a leader then it would probably be me. But officially, no.” Lister nodded. “Well,” he exchanged a look with Kriss, “I suppose the burning question we have is this: Are you guys actually human or are you something else?”

“I can see I had better put your mind at rest.” Ethan grinned, “Yes. We are human. We are not aliens or GELF’s or anything else nasty that might suddenly change shape and eat you.”

“Thanks, bud. That’s good to know.” the Cat grinned.

“So, how did you get here? Or I suppose more importantly, how long have you been here? And how the smeg do you know about us?” Lister asked him.

            Ethan sat back with a sigh, “I think I’d better start at the beginning. Around four thousand years ago, a JMC ship crash-landed on this planetoid. The crash was not severe; only a few lives were lost, but it was bad enough that the ship could not be repaired. They were stranded here. So, they did the only thing they could in the circumstances and made this place their home. And everyone here is descended from the six-hundred or so survivors of that crash. The remains of the ship are still there to this day. Rusty and decrepit of course, but they’re there.”

            “Our scan picked up non-human life here, as well.” Kryten ventured, voicing his worries. Ethan nodded. “There is. We’ve got sheep and goats and cattle, all that kind of stuff. But we’ve also got something else less pleasant. On the other side of the planetoid. Which is why you got the less than friendly reception you did, I’m afraid.”

“What are they?” Lister asked. Ethan shrugged,

“We’ve never been sure. We think they might be GELF’s of some sort. We call them the Furies.”

“After the Greek myth.” Kriss noted. Kryten rolled his eyes.

“Whatever they are, they’re not friendly.” Ethan carried on. “And the past six months or so it’s been building up. There have been little battles. We think they’re building up for a full-scale assault on us. And if they do we won’t win. They have larger numbers and better weapons. We think they came here quite recently from somewhere else. Somewhere more advanced.”

            “So, what are you going to do?” Lister asked.

“We don’t know.” Ethan shook his head, “We can’t fight and there’s nowhere for us to run to. It seems hopeless. Or at least...” a glimmer of hope sparked in his eyes, “It seemed that way up until a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps now we have a chance. A secret weapon, if you like. Which brings me on to how I know about you...”

“Lis...! I mean...Skipper!”

            The crew whirled round to see a heroic figure outlined in the doorway wearing a huge smile. Lister jumped to his feet, “Rimm...! I mean...Ace!” They met in the centre of the room and threw their arms around each other, laughing. “Skipper, me old chum, what in the name of skin-tight latex are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question!” Lister replied. Ethan watched them, beaming,

“You see! We have Ace Rimmer on our side! And the Furies didn’t bet on that!”


	5. Chapter 5

Lister slowly shook his head in joyful disbelief as Ethan continued. “Now you’re here as well, it almost seems like fate. What could give us more chance of survival than having not only Ace Rimmer, but his right-hand man David Lister on our side?”

“Right-hand man?” Lister grinned, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not entirely sure I could claim that.”

“Ace told me all about you. About the adventures you shared. He says that you fought together many times,” Ethan chattered enthusiastically. Lister cast a sidelong look at Rimmer, who was grinning sheepishly. “Well, I can’t argue with that I suppose.”

            Ethan seemed to compose himself slightly. “Anyway, I’d better go and organise a place for you guys to sleep tonight.”

“Oh, hey, don’t worry about it.” Lister said, “We can just crash back at the ‘Bug.”

“Nonsense!” Ethan exclaimed, “You’re guests here and we’ll find you a decent place to sleep. It will be freezing back on the ship without the engines going.” He ducked through the doorway and disappeared. The rest of the crew stood up and gathered around Lister and Rimmer.

            “Ace, buddy! You look fantastic!” The Cat beamed, “Do I detect a nuance of a tan?”

“Sure do, Cat, me old mucker. Weather here’s pretty damn splendid, don’t you know.” He turned to Kriss, “And unless my peepers are on the way out I’d say that this lovely vision here is Miss Kristine Kochanski, although I’d have to admit it’s a bit of a shock to see her.”

“It’s a long story.” she said, holding out a hand, “I’m a bit shocked too. I’ve never met a Rimmer quite like you.”

“I bet you say that to all the alternate versions of me.” He grinned. She laughed. Lister bristled slightly and cut in.

 “Kriss is from a parallel universe. There was a little accident and she got stuck with us. We’re still trying to find a way to get her back to her own reality and her boyfriend.” It came out sounding a bit sharper than he’d meant it too and he saw Kriss give him a look made up of surprise and, he almost hoped, a touch of hurt. Rimmer hid it well but Lister saw the quick flash of sympathy in his eyes and knew he understood.

            “Why don’t you fellas go and take a look around and make yourselves at home?” he suggested diplomatically, “Me and Skipper have some catching up to do.”

“Good idea, Mr Ace, sir.” Kryten nodded, ushering the group out. “We’ll see you later on.”

Rimmer turned to Lister, “Come on, Davey-boy. Let’s go for a stroll.”


	6. Chapter 6

They wandered off in opposite directions; Kryten, Kochanski and the Cat into the village and Lister and Rimmer out towards the grass plains for some privacy.

            “How have you been?” Lister asked, when they were out of earshot.

“Not bad.” Rimmer said, in his own voice. “It’s quite fun this hero lark, once you get into the swing of it.”

“I bet it is. All fast ships and fast women, is it?” Lister asked wistfully.

“Well, you’re half right. The women haven’t been very forthcoming actually. They all seem to be married or betrothed to someone else. I think the last Ace must have snapped up all the single ones.”

“Well, that at least makes me feel slightly better.” Lister admitted. Rimmer looked at him,

“I’m sorry about Kriss.” he said tentatively. Lister shrugged,

“I’ve not given up yet.” he said, “At least her boyfriend is an alternate version of me. That’s got to count for something.” Rimmer said nothing. Of course he hadn’t given up. In three million years, with the woman long dead, he’d never given up. He certainly wouldn’t do it now, with her finally back in his life again.

            “Anyway,” Lister changed the subject, “What exactly is going on around here? Ethan said something about a war coming.” Rimmer frowned,

“Right. The Furies.” Lister took in his expression,

“How bad is it?” he asked, not sure that he wanted to know the answer.

“It’s bad, Listy.” They shared a look. “I’ve been over there on a few scouting missions.” he continued, “They’ve got guns, they’ve got ammo, they’ve got decent body armour. And, more importantly, they’ve got numbers. We’re out-numbered about five to one.”

            Lister winced. “What have we got?”

“Swords, spears, arrows and home-made armour that would have been amateur even in medieval times.”

“Smeg. Anything else?”

“Like Ethan said: They’ve got Ace Rimmer. And now that you’re here, they’ve got you.”

“I don’t think that counts for a whole lot, Rimmer.”

“Doesn’t it?” Rimmer asked, “Think about it, Lister. At the very least, and I mean the VERY least, we can use Starbug to get the women and children out of here before the shit really hits the fan. And there are weapons on Starbug. Laser cannons, bazookoids.”

“Not enough to go round. You know that.”

“Maybe not. But enough to give the people here some hope. Some confidence.”

            Lister stopped to look at him. “You really think they’ve got a chance, don’t you?” he asked seriously. “I don’t know. But I do know that we have to try. If we don’t make a stand now, if we don’t stop these things, they’re going to swarm over the whole smegging galaxy and beyond, wiping out everything in their path. I know that much. Even if we had enough time and fuel to move everyone off this planet, they’d catch up with us eventually. It has to end here, Lister. One way or another.”

            Lister couldn’t help but grin, “Same old Rimsy.” he said. “Ideal solution is to run for it.”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Lister. But I’ve made my point.”

“You have.” Lister nodded, “Now I’m going to make mine. If you really think we can win this fight, then I’ll believe you. But be honest with me. Because if there’s no hope at all and we’re just standing our ground for a massacre, then I would rather try and get everyone out on Starbug. Even just to buy some time.”

            Rimmer took a deep breath and thought for a minute. “I believe we can win.” he said finally.

“Why?” Lister asked. Rimmer gave him an uneasy look,

“This is going to sound very strange.” he said, “But I swear it’s true.”

“Go on.”

“I didn’t tell you at the time because...well, for a lot of reasons. But here goes.” He looked Lister squarely in the eye. “A strange mystical voice told me.”

            He saw the corners of Lister’s mouth start to twitch. “Don’t laugh!”

“I’m not laughing!”

“You bloody are! You’re just trying not to!”

“I’m sorry, Rimmer, but what were you expecting?”

“Look, will you listen to me for a minute? It was just after Ace died. I was lying in bed and I’d just decided I wasn’t going to leave Starbug and take over from him and suddenly this great light filled the room. And a voice...spoke to me. It told me I had to go. That it was my destiny and that if I didn’t it would spell doom for the universe. Like there was something important I had to do.” He paused to look at Lister. He wasn’t smirking anymore, he was apparently listening. Encouraged, Rimmer continued. “It said that you had a destiny too, that would interweave with mine and that we would see each other again soon if all went to plan.”

“Did it say what it was that we were destined to do?”

“Well...save the universe. But it was a bit vague about the details. But I can’t help thinking that so far it all seems to be coming true. And if you’re here, and I’m here...maybe it is all true. Maybe this is meant to be.”

            Lister sighed, “This is all a bit hard to believe, Rimmer. Even if it’s true, I can’t see what we can do to help these people.”

“I think maybe I can.” Rimmer said softly. Lister looked at him expectantly. “Right now,” Rimmer said, ‘These people have no guidance. Ethan is very good as an advisor but if you asked him to take over, to actually take charge he’d go to pieces. These people need a leader right now.” He looked at him solemnly, “You are a leader, Lister.”

            Lister stared at him, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” he said simply.

“You know it’s true, Listy. We pulled through and survived as a crew because of you. You were our captain. No matter how much I bitched and sniped about being a higher-rank, you were always in charge, right from the word go. And let’s face it, time and time again you managed to get the most selfish creature and the most cowardly man in existence to follow you into danger. To get both me and the Cat to do what you want when it involves a possible danger to ourselves? That is leadership, Listy. And although I haven’t been around for a bit, I wouldn’t mind betting that a certain Miss Kochanski, a first-class officer no less, defers to you in the cockpit, if nowhere else. Am I right?”

“We all work as a team, Rimmer. You know that.”

“And no team works without a captain. I definitely know that. Lister,” he stepped towards him, “I really think this is it. This is why we were spared when everyone else died. Why we were chosen. Because I think together we can crack this. With my military and tactical know-how and your strength and leadership, I think we can save these people. Our people. Because we’re all that’s left.”

            Lister smiled and shook his head, “I can’t quite believe I’m hearing this. Not from you.”

“It needed to be said. I should have said it years ago.” Rimmer said softly. His words took Lister back to their goodbyes on Starbug eighteen months ago. He’d known what he had to do, just as he knew he’d have to be the one to do it, but as he’d stepped forward to give Rimmer that hug he’d thought almost exactly the same thing. That he had to do it, especially, and perhaps simply, because he knew he should have done it years ago.

            “Well,” he said quietly, with the beginnings of a smile. “It would be a shame to miss the opportunity to fight together one last time.” Rimmer grinned and went a little red,

“It wasn’t a lie exactly.” He protested, “We did used to fight together all the time. I never said we were on the same side.” Lister laughed,

“Come on. Let’s go back. We need to have a talk with the others. And with Ethan, I think.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

            It was later on that evening.  Rimmer had gone with a couple of the villagers on reconnaissance to check out the Furies encampment.  Lister and Ethan were in the armoury, going through the weapons and protective gear they had stored.  They spoke little, both focusing on the job in hand and both afraid of revealing how worried they were.  Lister was about to say something just to break the tension when Kriss came in.  “Dave, I really need to talk to you.” 

            Her tone of voice alone told Lister that this was not going to be a fun conversation.  She was either angry or scared and right now either of those things were bad news.  He shared a look with Ethan; then followed her out of the hut and round the back where they could be alone.  He didn’t have a chance to ask her what was wrong.  Before he could speak, she wheeled round and glared at him.

             “What do you think you’re playing at?” She snapped.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean!  This!”  She snatched the spear he was still holding out of his hands, “Are you crazy?  Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Not really,” he admitted, “But then how many people do in situations like this?  We’re just going to have to do the best we can.”

“The best we can.” Kriss repeated, “Is that it?  You’re sending these people into battle, telling them ‘Just do the best you can’?”

“That’s the best anyone can do.” Lister replied evenly.

“You’re going to get these people killed!”

“If we sit around and wait for the Furies to come to us then we’re all dead anyway.  This way we might stand a chance.”

            “We?” Kriss asked sharply, “What’s this _we_?”

 “When the time comes, I need you to take Starbug and get as many of the women and children out of here as you possibly can.” Lister told her.  “Take them to the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere.  If all goes well we’ll use Rimm...I mean...Ace’s ship Wildfire to contact you and get you to bring everyone back.  If you don’t hear from us...well...then it won’t make much difference in the end.”

“And what about you?” She asked indignantly, “What will you be doing?”

Lister looked at her and realised she didn’t understand.  She really hadn’t caught on.  “Kriss,” he said gently, “I’ll be fighting.”

            She stared at him silently for a moment or two, then blinked and said, “What?”

“Me, Cat, Ace...we’re all staying, Kriss.  They need everyone they can get.  We’re going to be down here fighting.”

“But...why?” She stammered.

“You must know the answer to that.”

“You don’t need to be here!  This has nothing to do with us!  For God’s sake, if we hadn’t spotted this damn place on the navi-comp we would have just flown on by and never thought twice about it!  It wouldn’t have made any difference to us what was going on on this poxy little planet!”

“If we hadn’t known what was going on here, then you’re right.  It wouldn’t have made a jot of difference.  But we _are_ here, we _do_ know and that means we have a responsibility to stay and do what we can to help!”

“Bullshit!” She almost shouted.  “We have no responsibility to these people!  They’re strangers!  They’re nothing to do with us!”               

            Lister looked at her incredulously.  “Kriss,” he said, “They’re our people.  Just because we don’t know them...We’re all that’s left of our species, we have to stick together.  We can’t just get back on Starbug, wave goodbye and say, “Well, it was nice to meet you, shame you’re all going to die!’”

“Dave,” her voice was starting to wobble, “You’re not a soldier.  You don’t know how to use a sword, or a spear or any of this stuff!  You’re going to get killed!”

“A lot of people are going to get killed, Kriss.  It’s a war.  Like I said, we’ve all just got to do the best we can.  I’m not a bad fighter, I’ve been in enough scraps in my time.  And if the worst happens, well, at least I can take a few of the bastards down with me.”

“How can you talk like this?” She put her hands over her face and shook her head, “How can you be so blase?”

“I’m not being blase, I’m being realistic.” He said shortly; “I know I could well be dead soon and I’m not happy about it, but at the end of the day I can’t just walk away!”  He looked her in the eyes; “I would rather die now, like this, for a purpose, than live out a long pointless existence on Starbug knowing I could have done something and didn’t!  I’m doing the right thing, Kriss; and deep down you know it too.”

“Don’t do it, Dave.  Please!” She begged.  “Come with me on Starbug, I can’t do it by myself!”

“Yes, you can.”  Lister said firmly, “You have to.”

            He saw her eyes filling up with tears, but she wasn’t ready to back down yet.  “It’s him, isn’t it?” She said through gritted teeth, “He’s been filling your head with all that heroic crap.  Well, you’re not Ace!”

“I know that.” He replied calmly, “And I’m still staying.”

“So, you’re choosing him over me!  Is that it?” 

“That’s hardly the issue here, Kriss.”

“It is now!” She flared up, “Who’s it going to be?  Me or him?”

            Lister paused.  Had he been told years ago he’d have to make this decision, he would never have thought he’d be making the choice he was about to.  But now here he was; and he knew he didn’t even have to think about it.  “I’m not going to let him down, Kriss.  I’m not going to leave him to deal with this alone.  Not for you.  Not for anyone.”

            Kochanski stared at him, flabbergasted.  “I’m sorry” he said, but he knew the apology meant nothing.  “I can’t believe this.”  Her voice faltered, “I can’t believe he means more to you than I do!  You hardly even know him!”

“I know him better than you think.”  Lister said, “And I know I can’t be the person you want me to be.  I’m not your Dave.”

“No, you’re not!” She snarled, “He would have come with me if I’d asked him!”

“Really?”  Lister asked, “Well then, there you go.  I am better than him after all.”  He turned and walked away, leaving her standing with her mouth open.

            He walked back into the hut and knew immediately from the look on Ethan’s face that he’d heard them.  “Sorry about that,” he mumbled, embarrassed, “Let’s get on with it, shall we?”

“Can I say something?” Ethan asked.  Lister nodded, surprised;

“Yeah, of course.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.  From Ace.  He used to talk about you all the time.  He told me once that he admired you more than any man he’d ever met.”  Lister blinked, astounded at what he was hearing.  “And I always thought,” Ethan continued, “That he must have been exaggerating.  I mean, somebody worthy of Ace Rimmer’s admiration?  I had this image of you as some kind of...I don’t know...superhero.  You weren’t what I was expecting anyway.  But I can see now why he feels the way he does about you.  You truly are worthy of admiration.  Even from a guy like Ace.”

            Lister felt his face burn red, “Well...thanks.”  He laughed and put his hands over his face, “Smeg, you’ve really embarrassed me now.  Nobody’s ever said anything that nice to me before.”

“Not even Ace?” Ethan grinned.

“Not even Ace Rimmer himself.” Lister grinned back, “Come on, let’s get this finished and then we can go and grab a bite to eat.”


	8. Chapter 8

            Lister was trying to get the fire in the centre of the hut started when Rimmer came back.  “Hey,” he stood up to greet him, “Have you eaten?”

“Yes, just now.  You didn’t have to get everything ready for me, Lister.” 

He shrugged, “I finished up a while ago and I wanted to be here when you got back.  I wanted to know what happened.  How did it go?”

“Not too bad actually.  Their perimeter guard is strong but they’ve got absolutely no air security.  They don’t think they need it; as far as they know, we don’t have any aircraft.  They won’t be prepared for an air-strike.”

“They’ll hear us coming though.  Starbug’s small, but not small enough for a stealth attack.”

“It doesn’t matter.  They’ve got no equipment to bring down the ship.  We haven’t got the resources to take them out completely with this attack, but at the very least it should even up the numbers a bit for when the smeg really hits the fan.”  Lister nodded and went back to trying to light the fire.  Rimmer understood.  He was aware of how Lister felt about war and knew that he didn’t like all this sitting around plotting how to kill things; even things like the Furies.  He decided to change the subject.

            “I saw Kristine a minute ago.”  Lister looked up warily and Rimmer half-smiled; “She wasn’t very happy with me.”

“I know.” Lister said, “But I didn’t think she’d actually say anything.  I’m sorry.”

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Lister?” Rimmer asked, and for a moment he sounded so much like his old self that Lister couldn’t help but smile just a little; but it was short-lived.  “She doesn’t want me to stay and fight.  She thinks you’ve brainwashed me into it.”

“I see.” Rimmer looked at him carefully, “Is that how you feel?”

“You know why I’m doing this.” Lister replied.

“Does she?”

“I’ve tried to make her understand, but she doesn’t want to know.  She’s upset and she wants somebody to blame.”  Rimmer took a deep breath,

“She does love you, you know.”

            Lister paused for a moment, then carried on without looking at him, “No.  She doesn’t.  She just loves somebody who looks like me.  I think she forgets that sometimes.  She wants me to be him and I’m not.”

“But you are.” Rimmer reminded him gently, “You’re the same person.”

“No, we’re not!  That’s like saying that you and Ace are...” he trailed off and turned around to look at him.  Rimmer was smiling, “You see?” he said softly.  Lister sighed and turned round again, “It doesn’t really matter now anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not going to be here much longer.” 

            Rimmer frowned and went over to kneel down beside him, “What are you talking about?”  Lister sat back on his haunches and faced him with a sad smile,

“Come on, Rimmer.  We both know what my chances are of surviving this mess.  Like Kriss said earlier, I’m not a trained soldier.  I don’t know how to use any of that stuff back in the armoury.  Once I’m out of bullets, that’s it.”

“Don’t say that.” Rimmer shook his head, “I wouldn’t have asked you to stay if I’d thought I was just sending you out to die.  We’ll work on your weaponry skills; it’s not that difficult.  You’ve used a sword enough times in A.R. games.  I know you can do this.”  Lister looked at him doubtfully.  “Remember, I’m going to be out there with you.  We’ll look out for each other.  Boys from the Dwarf, remember?” 

            Lister smiled slyly, “Have you got anything in writing?” he asked pointedly.  Rimmer thumped him hard on the arm and they both laughed.  “Just don’t give up on me yet.” Rimmer said, then paused for a long moment before adding, “Or Kriss.  I think you might find her waiting for you when you come off that battlefield a hero.”

“I’m not doing this for her, Rimmer.” Lister said, shaking his head.

“No?”

“No.  I’m doing it for you.  That is...us.  I mean...Our people.  Remember?”

“Right.” Rimmer nodded.  He looked down, “Have you still not got that fire going?”

“No.”

“Here,” he took the matches out of his hand, “I’ll strike it, you shield it.”

             Together they tended the small flame and it wasn’t long before the wood caught and there was a strong blaze.  They sat in its glow for a while then went to bed.  “We’ll practise with some of the weaponry tomorrow, okay?” Rimmer said, before Lister went back to his own hut.

“Okay.  Night.”

“Night.”


	9. Chapter 9

            Two weeks passed.  The armoury built up.  Lister continued his combat training along with some of the villagers and, on occasion, the Cat; who turned up when he felt like it.  In truth, he didn’t really need to be there at all; his heightened senses and quick reflexes made him just about the best warrior they had, and nobody had beaten him yet in a swordfight.  Rimmer was still going on regular trips to scout around the Furies camp.  Kryten was happy helping out around the village and Kochanski was...well, not happy but she hadn’t said anything more about leaving and seemed to be coming to terms with the situation.  She was still being very chilly to both Lister and Rimmer though; and Lister, to everyone’s surprise - even his - had not made much of an effort to hold out an olive branch and had left her to sulk.

            Finally, Rimmer came back one night with a very grim expression.  Lister had been waiting for him by the fire, but he took one look at his face and got to his feet, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s started, Listy,” he said simply.  “They’re getting ready to move.  Massing arms, packing provisions, all of it.  They’re coming.”

“Already?” The dismay was evident on Lister’s face.

“I know.  I really thought we’d have longer than this.”  Rimmer anxiously ran his hands back through his wig.

“How long do we have?”

“They’ll be marching in a few hours.  We can probably expect them sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

            Lister looked at him, “What do we do?”  Rimmer took a deep breath,

“We find Ethan.  We tell him what’s happening.  And then I find the Cat and we fly over there and hit them with the air-strike.  Right now.”

“But...” Lister paused, “I thought _I_ was going with you.” 

“You were.  But the situation’s changed now.  I need you to stay here and help Ethan.  Between you you’ve got to get this lot organised.  Kriss needs to be ready to start evacuating the village as soon as we get back with the ‘Bug and the lads need to be getting kitted out at the armoury asap.”

“Right.  Okay.” Lister conceded, “You find Ethan and I’ll find Kriss.  Let’s go.”


	10. Chapter 10

            Lister ran through the village to Kochanski’s hut.  She was inside with Kryten and the Cat and they looked up in surprise when Lister dashed in out of breath.  “Sir, what’s wrong?” Kryten asked, going over to him.  Lister bent over with his hands on his knees to try and get some oxygen back.  “Cat,” he said finally, “Go find Ace.  He needs you to do something for him.  He’ll probably be at Ethan’s place.  Hurry.”  The Cat exchanged shrugs with the others and went.

“Dave, what’s going on?” Kriss demanded.  

“They’re coming.” He said simply.  “I need you to help me, Kriss.  We have to get everyone out on Starbug tonight.  Go round and get everyone ready to leave as soon as possible.”

“Dave, we can’t possibly get everyone out tonight!  There’s not enough room; we’ll have to make two trips as it is.” She scrabbled to her feet.

“We have to try.  Tell the women to grab what they need and be outside by the communal fire with the kids in twenty minutes.  Kryten, you wait there with them and do whatever you can to keep them calm.  Send all the men over to Ethan’s. Come on, let’s go.” 

            He made his way over to Ethan’s, dropping in on as many homes as he could along the way to get things moving.  When he got there, Ethan was pacing the floor, alone.  “Have they gone?” Lister asked. 

“They’ve gone.” Ethan confirmed, “They’ll be on their way by now.”  He put his hands over his face, “Christ, Dave.  We’re not ready for this!  We’re just not ready!”

“Take it easy, mate.  We’re going to be fine.” Lister said soothingly, “We’re just moving things forward a bit, that’s all.  Come on.  The lads will be turning up soon and if they see you’re worried then things will start going wrong.  We have to be confident or they’ll go to pieces.”

“You’re right.”  Ethan shook himself, “Are the rest getting ready to clear out?” 

Lister nodded, “I’ve told them to be ready to go in twenty minutes.”

“Ace won’t be back with Starbug for at least half an hour.”

“I know, but it’s better for them to be ready early than straggling along at the last minute.”

“Okay.”

            “Er...Excuse me?” They turned round to see an embarrassed looking young man peering in.  “They said to come here...” he added sheepishly.

“That’s okay.” Lister said, “Come on in.  Take a seat while we wait for everyone else.”  The rest of the village men started to turn up quite quickly and it wasn’t long before Ethan’s hut was getting full.  “I think we should move outside.” Lister suggested, “We’re never going to fit everyone in here.”  He checked his watch,

“Rimm,...I mean Ace, should be back any minute.  I’m going to go and check how Kriss is getting on.”  He elbowed his way out and went to find her. 

            As soon as he saw the crowd gathered around the fire he knew with a sinking heart that Kriss was right.  They would never get this lot on Starbug in one go.  She would have to make two trips, which meant cutting things very fine indeed.  He spotted her a little way away with Kryten and fought his way over.  “Hey,” he cast an eye over the crowd, “Is this everyone?”

“Almost, I think.  Maybe a couple more still to come, but that’s it.”

“Okay.  We’re just waiting for Ace and Cat to get back with the ‘Bug and then you’ll be on your way.”

“Dave,” Kriss asked seriously, “Do we have time to get all these people out?”

“It’s going to be tight.” He admitted, “But Ace and Cat should have slowed them down a bit.  If it comes down to it we’ll just have to go out and hold them off while you get the rest out.”

            Kristine’s face was very pale, “I wish to God that you were coming with us,” she said simply.  “You know I can’t,” he told her gently.  He looked down awkwardly, “Look, when you come back to pick up the rest of them I’ll probably be busy...you know, with everything else.  I probably won’t see you.  So maybe...”

“Don’t.” She said sharply.  Lister blinked.  “Don’t you dare say goodbye.” She told him, her voice shaking.  He looked back at her helplessly.  She swallowed hard, then pulled him into a tight hug.  “Be careful,” she whispered, “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”  He stroked back her hair gently and said nothing.  He knew, in the circumstances, that it was an impossible promise to keep.

“Skipper!”

             Ace was back and hurrying over through the crowd.  He looked at Lister and Kochanski and paused for just a fraction of a second before continuing, “Everyone ready to set sail, old friend?  Only the clock is ticking.”

“I think so.” Lister gently stepped back from Kriss.  “We’ll contact you via Wildfire as soon as we can,” he told her quietly; “If you haven’t heard anything by the evening of the third day, well...just promise me you’ll do your best for these people.”

“You know I will,” she replied heavily, squeezing his hand.

“Right then!” Ace clapped his hands, “You lot follow me back to the little green fella and we’ll get you loaded on!  Davey-Boy, you run on back to Ethan, will you?  I think he needs some support.”

“Right.”  He turned back to Kriss and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.  “Good luck,” he said softly.

“And you,” she whispered.  He squeezed her hand one last time, then turned and walked away.

            “Okey-dokey, Kriss.  Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”  Ace sucked in a deep breath to get the crowd’s attention and suddenly felt nails digging hard into his arm.  “Just one thing,” Kochanski said acidly.  “If I come back and you’ve let anything happen to him, I will make you pay.  Is that understood?”  Ace smiled weakly, “Certainly.  Think no more of it.”


	11. Chapter 11

            The men of the village were milling around outside Ethan’s hut, talking in hushed voices.  You could practically taste the anxiety in the air.  Ethan himself was sitting in a corner looking extremely glum.  He cheered up slightly when he saw Lister coming back, “Hey!”

“Hey.  The first lot of them are getting on to the ‘Bug now.” Lister reported, “They should be taking off in about five minutes.”

“Excellent.” Ethan sighed with relief.

“What’s been going on here?” Lister asked.

“Well, everybody’s here now, so I guess that means we have to start filling them in on the situation.”

“Do we know the full situation yet?  Has Ace told you what happened over there?”

“He said everything went to plan.  The Cat gave their camp a few pretty accurate rounds from the laser cannons.  Ace seemed quite happy.”

“Okay.”

            Lister took a deep breath then cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Listen up, guys!”  The murmur of voices died away and everyone turned to Lister.  “I guess you all want to know what’s going on,” he continued, “So I’ll give you a quick summary and we can all get on.  The Furies are ready to launch a full attack on us.  Our best guess is that they’ll have reached the plains on the outskirts of the village by tomorrow afternoon.”  The murmurs swelled up again, but Lister shushed them and carried on.  “Now, I know that this is all happening a bit sooner than we hoped, but it is not a major problem.  We’re ready for them.  The village is being evacuated and we’ve already launched a successful counter attack via an airstrike, so we’re doing okay!  Now, I want everyone to go to the armoury and start getting kitted out.  And I don’t want to hear any bloody squabbling either!  We’re all in the same boat, the last thing we need is for you lot to start thumping each other over who gets the shiniest shield, alright?”       

            The men tittered and started to make their way across to the armoury.  Lister let out his breath, “Phew.  Well, that didn’t go so badly.”

“You were great,” Ethan said warmly.  He looked past Lister and smiled, “Ace is coming back.  It’s a shame he only just missed your speech.”

“I’m sure he’ll get over it,” Lister smiled.  Ace joined them outside the hut,

“Everything going alright, fellas?”

“I think so,” Lister said, “They didn’t panic when we told them what was happening; that’s the most important thing.”

“Splendid.  You think they can take care of themselves for a bit while we step inside?”

“I think so.”

“Good.  Because we, my dear compadres, have a battle to plan.”


	12. Chapter 12

            It was 10am the following day.  After a final inspection, the men had been sent to bed just after midnight to get some rest.  Things had taken a bit longer than they’d hoped in the armoury; mainly because the Cat had kept stopping people to give them fashion advice about how to wear their weapons.  Lister, Rimmer and Ethan had stayed up most of the night devising their strategy and had finally crashed out at about three in the morning.  It was Ethan who awoke first.  He shook Lister and Rimmer.  “Time to rouse the troops,” he said grimly.

            They sent the word around the men.  Meet at eleven sharp around the communal fire to await orders.  And be ready for battle.

            Meanwhile, the three generals were putting the finishing touches on their plan.  They would march out and meet the Furies on the open plain, as far from the village as possible.  Each would lead his own battalion of 150 men; Ace in the centre, Lister to the left, Ethan to the right and try to close in on the enemy in a pincer shape.  Sword and spearmen to the front, bowmen to the back and five men in each battalion carrying bazookoids.

            As Lister had predicted, when Kriss got back at about ten to eleven, he was still busy with the others, preparing.  Kryten found them in Ethan’s hut, going over the plan one final time.  “Just to let you know, Sir, Miss Kochanski has flown the remaining villagers out on Starbug.”

“Kryten, you should have gone with her!” Lister said, “You can’t come out with us, you can’t kill!”

“I know, Sir, but I thought that perhaps somebody should stay behind to begin caring for the casualties when they start coming in.” Kryten replied reasonably. 

“He’s right, Dave.” Ethan added, “It probably is a good idea to have at least someone waiting for when we come back.  It will take the others a few hours at least to make it back on Starbug.  Until then, we’re going to need all the hands we can get.”  Lister sighed, “Alright.  Just be careful, okay, Kryters?  If everything goes wrong, you can still use Wildfire to make it back to Kriss and the others.”

“Very well, sir.” Kryten nodded, “I’ll just start setting a few things up here then.”

“And we have to go and get ready to meet the troops,” Ethan said, “Come on, guys.  Let’s pick up our stuff and get out there.”  As they wandered out, Rimmer leaned over to whisper in Lister’s ear.  “You must have known he wouldn’t leave without you,” he said gently.

            They stopped off to pick up their weaponry.  They each had a heavy broadsword and Lister and Rimmer both had bazookoids as well.  The armour was...well, a joke really.  Just toughened leather jerkins and a shield each, but it was better than nothing.  Ethan, who was slightly more used to getting the stuff on, went out first to let the men know they were on their way.  Lister and Rimmer struggled a bit more with the buckles and things. 

            Rimmer’s heart was pounding and not just because of what they were about to do.  There was something he needed to say, while they were still alone.  But if what he’d seen yesterday, when Lister was saying goodbye to Kriss, was what it seemed then...

“Lister...?”

“Yes?”

“Look...Before we go out there, I just wanted to tell you something.”

“Yeah?” Lister looked up at him and suddenly the room seemed a lot smaller.  “Yeah...me too actually,” he said, squaring his shoulders and looking up into his eyes, “There was something I had to say as well.”

“I just...I don’t know how to say this,” Rimmer stammered, “But...I wanted you to know that...I...Smeg, this so hard...”

“Rimmer,” Lister reached out to him tentatively, “I think I know what you’re trying to say and...well, I know because I...”

“Guys!” Ethan stuck his head round the door, “Come on.  We have to get going.”

            Lister and Rimmer hesitated for a moment and looked at each other desperately.  “Come on, then.” Ethan said impatiently.  He walked away, obviously expecting them to follow him.  Lister sighed and shook his head sadly,

“It doesn’t matter,” he said softly, “Forget I said anything, man, okay?”  He trailed miserably after Ethan.


	13. Chapter 13

            The men were waiting in silent lines for them.  There was none of the buzz of the night before; a grim hush had fallen over the ranks.  Ethan leaned over to whisper to Lister and Rimmer.  “I thought maybe we should give them a bit of a pep talk before we go out there.  Morale seems pretty low.  And Dave...you were so good last night...I thought maybe...”

“You want me to do it,” Lister said for him.  “Smeg, I haven’t prepared anything.  Well...alright.  Okay, here goes.”

            He climbed up onto one of the benches around the fire and surveyed his troops.  He was astounded at how young some of them looked.  _Smeg_, he thought.  _Some of these guys can’t be a day over sixteen_.  They looked up at him and he felt his heart racing as he racked his brains, thinking over every movie he’d ever seen where the hero had to give an inspirational speech to his men.  He took a deep breath. 

            “I know,” he said, “That most of you here haven’t known me very long.  I know that at least some of you must be wondering whether you can trust me, whether I’m really one of you or just some stranger who’s butting into your affairs.  Someone asked me not so long ago why I was still here.  Why I hadn’t taken my ship and left as soon as I knew what was happening in this place.  I suppose the only answer I can give you is the same answer I gave them.  That yes, in many ways I am a stranger here.  But in another way, this is perhaps the closest I’ve been to home in a very long time.  I’ve been alone for...well, too many years, and for most of it I thought I really was the last human being alive.  So, finding you guys have been like finding a family I never knew I had.  And I think, if that’s reason enough for me to be here and to be ready to fight, then I can only imagine what you lot must be feeling right now.  And so there’s a few things I want you to remember when we go out onto that battlefield today.  I want you to remember that you’re not just fighting for your homes and your families.  You’re fighting for each other.  If we’re all that’s left of the human race, then we’re going to make damn sure that we look out for each other!”

            A few of the men cheered and Lister stood up straighter, “And one more thing!  Those things out there are GELF’s.  That means that they were created by humans and I’ll tell you this...We made the bastards.  AND WE CAN BRING THEM DOWN AGAIN!”  The men let out a roar and Rimmer, watching from the back, beamed with utter pride. 

            _I knew he could do it._


	14. Chapter 14

            They marched out onto the plains.  If they got there first, then they would be the ones to decide where the battle would be fought.  Rimmer guessed that the night’s airstrike had probably brought the odds down from five to one, to about two or three, but they were still outnumbered.  From now on, everything depended on strategy and how well they fought.         

            When Rimmer felt they’d reached the best place, he called a halt.  They were a couple of miles out from the village and the plains stretched out wide and open around them.  It would have been better strategically to have had somewhere they could corner the enemy, but the landscape of Santa Ria offered no such place.  There was nowhere to hide; for them or the Furies.

            The battalions fanned out into a V shape, with Rimmer at the head and Lister and Ethan out to the sides.  And they waited.

            They didn’t have to wait long.  After half an hour or so, they began to see shapes moving towards them through the haze on the horizon.  Soon, the sound of marching feet began to reach them and every man’s heart beat in time with their rhythm; a countdown to what could be the final moments of their lives.

            Finally, the two armies stood facing each other.  Lister stared at them.  He’d not seen the Furies yet and had been expecting something more like the Kinitawowi.  But these were almost reptilian.  More or less human shaped, but with greyish skin that looked tough, almost scaly and eyes that bore a striking resemblance to those of snakes.  Lister took a deep breath.  No doubt about it, these things were scary.  One of them snarled, showing ragged, pointed teeth and he tightened his grip on his sword.  And unpleasant, he added to himself.  Very definitely unpleasant.

            Across the divide between the two armies a howl went up.  The Furies pulled out their weapons.  A lot of them, Lister was dismayed to notice, had laser guns.  Some further back had modern high-powered crossbows.  There was another howl and they started to charge.  Lister wheeled round to his men, “Ready to fire at the back!” He shouted, and heard Rimmer and Ethan yelling similar commands.  All through the battalions, the archers took aim.  At the front, Rimmer’s men were ready with the spears.  The Furies were getting closer, closer and then, “Fire!” Rimmer bellowed.  A storm of arrows flew through the air and floored the first row of the Furies charge.  As agreed, Lister and Ethan waited five seconds before releasing theirs simultaneously and taking down another row.

            A barrage of laser shots came at them.  “Shields!” Lister shouted the warning to his men and took cover under his own.  He heard a few shouts and thuds behind him and staggered as a blow glanced off his shield.  He looked up and saw the Furies smash into Rimmer’s battalion, many of them driven onto the spears by the crush of bodies.  “Swords!” He shouted and heard the sharp ring of steel as 150 men simultaneously drew their blades.  This was it.  “Our people,” he murmured under his breath.  Then he threw back his shoulders and took a deep breath.  “CHARGE!”


	15. Chapter 15

            It was as if the whole world had had the volume turned down.  Lister could still hear the shouts, the shots ringing out, the clash of swords, but it all seemed to be coming from a huge distance.  You couldn’t think about it, he’d decided.  You just had to stay on your feet and keep fighting.  Keep fighting.  He didn’t know how many he’d killed, everything had blurred into one long slideshow of limbs sliced and heads flying.  He’d shot a few, but had lost the bazookoid somewhere along the way.  It wasn’t much good in such close contact anyway.

            He knew there was blood on his hands because he kept losing his grip on the sword; and sweat never felt that greasy.  He kept finding himself stumbling over bodies, or bits of bodies that seemed to wrap themselves around his feet.  On a few occasions, the bodies had faces that he recognised; and it seemed that every time he turned to get away from them, there was another mouth full of pointed teeth lunging at him, another blade poised to come down on his head and all he could do was keep moving, keep dodging, keep lashing out with his sword, or his fist or his shield.  He knew on a few occasions he’d come close to taking out his own men, just on the overriding instinct to kill anything that was getting too close to him.     

            He’d caught sight of the Cat at one point, in the centre of what seemed to be a whirling ball of destruction.  He’d had a huge grin on his face and seemed to be having the time of his life.  If they both got out of this, Lister decided, he was going to have to talk to him about why you really shouldn’t look like you’re having a good time in the middle of a pitched battle.  It tended to piss people off; on both sides.

            As far as he could tell, their ploy seemed to have worked.  The pincer shape had come together and the Furies were, for the most part, trapped on three sides by the human army.  The hardest part now would be to hold the formation against the sheer number of their enemies.  If the Furies broke through and scattered their forces, it would all be over.  They had to hold together.

            Suddenly, there was a massive pain in his side.  He doubled over and cried out.  There was a crossbow bolt lodged in his waist.  He drew in a deep, shuddering breath and tried to straighten up.  _It’s just a flesh wound, you’re okay, keep going...  _Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of steel and whirled around just in time to ward off the blow.  He knocked the sword aside and slashed the attacking GELF hard across the middle.  He caught a brief glimpse of blood and something that might have been intestines before the body crumpled down out of sight.  He sucked in a few deep lungfulls of air and tried to steady himself.

            Another shockwave of pain smashed through him; this one greater than the last as another bolt slammed straight into his ribcage.  The battlefield swirled and he crumpled down onto his knees.  In front of his eyes, he saw the dry earth of the plains was sticky with blood.  There were corpses on the ground, their open eyes staring up at him, empty as those of fishes on a market slab.  And Lister just had time to think, before the darkness overwhelmed him, that it was such a terrible shame. 


	16. Chapter 16

            It was just before sunset.  The sky was a brazen riot of gold above the plains, the air almost glowing with that special light that only comes just before all light begins to fade.  Ace Rimmer looked up at the sky and breathed its beauty and purity.  For this moment, that was all he wanted.  In a minute he would have to look around himself and see the devastation that lay around his feet.  The blood, the bodies, the wounded men who would never see a sky like this again; but for now, for these few seconds, he just wanted to see this beauty and think two simple words over and over.  _We won_.

            The men had held their nerve and slowly but surely the Furies army had been worn down until the few remaining fighters had lost hope and fled the onslaught.  Rimmer didn’t care that a few had got away; they couldn’t breed.  They would keep out of the way of the village for the next few years and eventually die out.  They had done it.  They had saved the universe and the human race.       

Finally, he came back to what was happening around him.  He stopped a young man who looked relatively unscathed, “What’s your name, son?”

“Eric,” he replied, looking pleased to have been noticed by Ace.

“Do me a favour will you, Eric, old sport.  Run back to the village.  There’s an android waiting in Ethan’s hut.  Tell him the good news and to pass it on.  But come on back here afterwards.  We’re going to need help getting some of these chaps home.”

“Yes, Sir.”  Eric took off at a run.  Ace watched him with a weary smile.  It was time to find the guys.      

            He spotted Ethan at once, picking his way across the battlefield towards him.  He looked tired and was bleeding in a few places, but other than that he seemed fine.  “It’s over,” he said softly, when he reached Ace.

“It is,” he confirmed.  “Where’s Davey-Boy got to?  I feel the need for a group hug or something.”

“I haven’t seen him for hours,” Ethan said, his expression betraying his thoughts.  The daze of contentment Rimmer had been feeling disappeared sharply and was replaced by a lead weight in his stomach.  He kept his face neutral.  “Not to worry, eh?  I’m sure he’s not far away.”  He spotted the Cat making his way towards them and waved.  “Ah,” he said, relieved, “He’ll know where he’s got to.”  As soon as the Cat was within shouting distance, he cupped his hands round his mouth and called over to him, “You seen Skipper, old chum?”  The Cat shook his head.  Rimmer started to feel vaguely sick.  “Sorry, bud,” the Cat said when he reached them, “I haven’t seen him since the scaly dudes started getting all up close and personal.”      

            Rimmer and Ethan looked at each other, this time with twin expressions.  Ethan gently put a hand on Rimmer’s shoulder, “I think we’d better start looking,” he said softly.       

            They split up and started combing the battlefield.  The Cat tried to see if he could scent track him, but there were too many bodies and the stench of blood covered everything.         

            Rimmer darted to and fro among the corpses, his heart pounding in his chest.  In his head he kept going back to the strange voice that had urged him to leave Starbug all that time ago.  _You will see him again before the end.  _Was this the end?  Was this the _reassurance _he had been given?  Two measly bloody weeks together before being separated forever?  He felt cheated.  He wanted to scream at the injustice of it all.  He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn’t see him.

            He was lying on the ground a few feet away, near two other bodies, utterly still.  Rimmer dropped heavily to his knees beside him; and saw the two arrows protruding from his side.  “No...” he whispered.  He hadn’t believed it.  He’d been worried but he hadn’t really believed it.  Deep down he’d been convinced that any moment Lister would appear on the outskirts of the battlefield; a huge grin on his face as they celebrated their victory.  “Listy...” he said brokenly, as the tears started to run down his face.

            And suddenly, Lister’s eyes fluttered.  Opened.  Searched.  Rimmer gasped and scrambled forward to lean over him, “Lister!  My God, you’re alive!”  Completely forgetting to be Ace for a minute he shouted back over his shoulder, “Somebody get a stretcher over here!  Now!”  He bent over Lister and put his hand gently against his forehead, “It’s going to be okay,” he said soothingly.

“Rimmer...” he whispered faintly.

“It’s okay.  I’m here.”

“My side...”

“You’re going to be fine, just lie still.”

“Too late...” Lister murmured weakly.

“Don’t say that,” Rimmer said sharply, “Don’t you give up on me, Lister!”

“It hurts so much...I can’t...” His eyes started to glaze over and he swooned.

“No!”  Rimmer lifted his head up into his lap and held him tightly, rocking gently back and forth.  “Stay with me,” he whispered, “Don’t you dare leave me like this!  Not now!”

            “I’m so sorry...” Lister whispered, “It shouldn’t have been this way.  I should have told you...long ago...”

“I know,” Rimmer whispered back, swallowing his tears, “I’m sorry too.”  He found Lister’s hand and squeezed it, “But we both know now,” he said, “We’re both here and we’re together.  That’s the important thing.”

            A shadow fell over them and Rimmer looked up to see Ethan and the Cat holding a makeshift sling.  “Come on.  Let’s get him back to the village.  Quick.” Ethan said.  They lifted him gently and as they made their way back, he opened his eyes again briefly.  “Rimmer?”

“Yes?”

“Did we win?”

            Rimmer smiled, “We won,” he said.  Lister lay back and sighed contentedly, then closed his eyes and didn’t open them again all the way back.


	17. Chapter 17

             They were back in the village.  Ethan’s hut had been turned into a temporary hospital and the small space was packed with injured soldiers and make-shift medical personnel.  There were only three properly trained doctors in the whole community but anyone with any medical knowledge was in there helping.  Rimmer was leaning over Lister, gripping his hand tightly as Kryten and one of the doctors carefully tried to work one of the arrow heads out of his side.  The Cat was standing slightly to one side watching with a grim expression and saying nothing.  They had hardly any real anaesthetic but as Lister was drifting in and out of consciousness anyway, they’d decided he didn’t particularly need it.      

            “Dave!” Rimmer barely looked up as Kochanski’s voice cut through the babble of the hut.  In seconds she was by Lister’s bed, unceremoniously shoving Rimmer aside.  He stepped back and said nothing, but he didn’t leave.  “Oh my God,” she was saying, gently stroking Lister’s hand, “Is he going to die?”

“It’s still touch and go right now,” the doctor told her, “If we can get these out quick and patch him up before he loses too much blood, he should be fine.  But it all depends on how deep they’ve gone and whether or not an infection’s had time to set in.  He could have been lying there for hours for all we know.”    

Rimmer ventured forward again to stand by her side, but as soon as she saw him her eyes flashed and she shoved him hard in the chest, “You!  This is all your fault!”  Rimmer staggered backwards, taken by surprise. "You talked him into this whole mess and now look!   He’s going to die because of you!”  She swiped at him and the Cat pulled her back, “Take it easy, Bud-Babe!”

“Kriss,” Rimmer said as calmly as he could, “It’s not over yet.  We’re not going to let him go that easily.”

“Why weren’t you with him?” she shouted tearfully, “Were you just showing off and playing the hero while you should have been looking out for him?”

“It was a battlefield, Kriss.  You can’t watch each other every minute.  He knew the risks.  He knew...”

“He knew nothing!” She spat, “He wasn’t a soldier!  He had no idea what you were getting him into!”     

            There was a sudden yell of pain from the bed and they all whirled around.  Lister had come to and was in the middle of what amounted to very amateur surgery with no anaesthetic.  Kryten was trying to soothe him, in a panicky sort of way, while the doctor continued as best he could.  The three of them rushed over.  Kriss got there first and bent over him, “Dave!  Dave it’s okay!  It’ll all be okay!”  His eyes had glazed over with pain and he was shaking and hyperventilating.  “Rimmer...!” He managed to choke out, “Where’s Rimmer?”

“He’s dead, buddy.  Don’t you remember?” the Cat said, puzzled, “We had a funeral and everything.”  The others glared at him and shoved him backwards, away from the bed.  “Dave, please just try and relax!” Kriss begged, “Just keep breathing through the pain and it will be alright!”

“Rimmer...Rimmer, please...Oh God...!”  Rimmer’s heart was thumping frantically.

“He’s delirious,” Kriss whimpered, “He doesn’t remember!”

“Rimmer...!”      

            Rimmer came to a decision.  “He’s not delirious.” He said, pushing Kriss aside and leaning over the bed, “He means me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” She snapped.  Rimmer ignored her,

“I’m right here, Listy.  Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Sir!” Kryten exclaimed, “It’s uncanny!  For a moment there, you sounded just like our Mister Rimmer!”

“That’s because I am your Mister Rimmer, you square-headed mechanical git!” Rimmer snapped, “It was me all along!”  He pulled the wig off and watched three jaws drop in synchronisation.  “But...but...but...” Kryten stammered.

“Look, I’ll explain everything later.  We don’t have time for this now.”  He turned back to Lister and took his hand, “It’s okay,” he said softly, “The doctor’s nearly done.  It’ll all be over in just a couple of minutes and then we’ll get you out of here.  Just hang on.”

“Don’t...leave...me...”

“I won’t.” Rimmer squeezed his hand, “Not this time.”  Lister sighed and settled back against the bed.  Kriss stared at them, silently.      

            Suddenly there was a loud thump.  They all looked round and saw that the Cat had fainted dead away on the floor.  “It must have been the shock of your revelation, Sir.” Kryten said calmly, “I’m sure he’ll come round in a minute or two.”   

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

            Rimmer lit the fire in the centre of the hut and went over to sit beside Lister.  He was propped up on the bed of furs and blankets in the corner.  You couldn’t see, but Rimmer knew that underneath his shirt there were thick bandages wrapped right around his torso.  He was a little dark under the eyes, perhaps a little drawn, but other than that he looked just fine.

             “How are you feeling?” Rimmer asked, settling beside him.

“A bit sore still,” Lister admitted, lightly touching his wounded side, “But alive and breathing, so you won’t hear any complaints from me.”

“Are you warm enough?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

            Rimmer let out a deep breath.  “I can’t believe it’s all over,” he said.

“I know.  All loose ends tied up, all bad guys vanquished.  Maybe now things can start getting back to normal.”

“Normal?” Rimmer raised an eyebrow and Lister smiled,

“As normal as they ever were, anyway.  I’m sure even the Cat will get used to the idea that you managed to be Ace for a while.”  Lister paused for a moment, “Once he comes round, that is.”  He looked at Rimmer, “Are you okay?”

“I am, you know,” Rimmer told him mildly, “I wasn’t sure I would be; but I really am.  It’s a relief in a way.  I was so sick of pretending.  I never thought I’d say it, but it’s good to be me again.”

            They watched the fire in silence for a few moments.  “I suppose that’s it then,” Lister said finally.  “Everything sorted.  All secrets out and everything.”

Rimmer looked at him, “All secrets, Lister?” he asked pointedly. 

            Lister looked back at him; and it might have just been the firelight but Rimmer could have sworn that he’d flushed a little.  “Perhaps some secrets are best kept between friends,” Lister said to him softly, “For now at least.”

Rimmer smiled at him, “I think you’re right there.”

            So, on that note, let us leave them sitting together by the fire.  Because after all, some things are best kept between friends.


End file.
